Aboriginal Holistic Health

Improved Essays
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a holistic perception of health. According to the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO, 2011), Aboriginal health involves the physical, emotional, social, and cultural well-being of the individual and the entire community he belongs with. The involvement of the whole community is considered to be the key standard in helping each Indigenous individual achieve their optimum potential. Whilst the health mainstream is embraced by the growing population, it is not a hidden fact that the Indigenous community are facing barriers in achieving their holistic health needs. These barriers include social, cultural and structural elements. Primarily, there is a widespread hindrance on social determinants of health affecting the Indigenous people’s holistic well-being. According to Marmot (2011) the benchmark element for health includes the conditions where people were born, raised, and how they live and work. This is further edified by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW, 2016) wherein variables such as income, education, and socioeconomic position are also said to have a great impact to the health of the Indigenous population. As exemplified by the Australian Government (2015), the low income and low employment status of Indigenous Australians is associated with their lack of educational attainment and depressed housing condition. In addition, there has been a reported massive decline of Indigenous people’s employment, especially in peripheral areas since 2008 (Australian Government, 2015). Furthermore, because English is not the first language of Aboriginal people, communication barrier is overtly perceived throughout the health system. This results to misunderstanding between the health providers and Indigenous consumer, which could lead to a decline in numbers of Indigenous population receiving treatments from health facilities. Another important factor that inhibits the Indigenous community in attaining a holistic care is based on cultural ideologies. Lovett (2014) enumerated a number of cultural determinants of health which comprise of land, spirituality, ancestral history, family and community, self-determination, etc. As presented by McBain-Rigg and Veitch (2011) in an interview research they conducted, the misconception about Aboriginal health and their behaviour is rampant among health care professionals. The health provider’s understanding of health care is grounded on the establishment of a comfortable environment (McBain-Rigg and Veitch, 2011). However, this is not akin to the beliefs of Indigenous people where strong interpersonal relationship, and building trust and respect are …show more content…
Structural barrier is caused by the deeply entrenched institutional racism and white privilege in the Australian health system. Henry, Houston, and Mooney (2004) described the impacts of colonisation and its consequences to the well-being of Indigenous Australians. Little was done to address the impartiality they experience with the health system in spite of the government being aware of their current situation (Henry, Houston, & Mooney 2004). Conversely, the government’s effort to provide culturally secure services to Aboriginal people does not materialise due to inadequate funding (Henry, Houston, & Mooney 2004). In addition, the idea that the Indigenous Australians are able to cope with the changes within the health system is also a major drawback for them (McBain-Rigg and Veitch, 2011). Also, Marmot (2011) stressed the health suffrage of people situated at the bottom of the socioeconomic hierarchy due to the power imbalance in the system. The Indigenous group being marginalised, continue to experience the detrimental impact of structural barriers to

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